Top 25 Rdp: SE Louisiana wins Southland thriller

(STATS) - It was as if the Missouri Valley Conference opened its 2015 schedule with two Daytona 500s in one day.

Like NASCAR, there are playoffs ahead for the big boys of the FCS. With a weekly Valley schedule that's treacherous along the way.

Fourth-ranked Illinois State opened the league season Saturday afternoon by defeating No. 7 Northern Iowa 21-13 for its 15th straight win at Hancock Stadium before 13,391.

Saturday night, No. 3 North Dakota State rolled to a 28-7 victory at fifth-ranked South Dakota State in the Dakota Marker Game as a record 17,348 watched at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

Illinois State senior Marshaun Coprich rushed for a pair of a first-half touchdowns and finished with 166 yards on 33 carries against the Panthers. The All-American passed Toby Davis to become the Redbirds' all-time rushing leader, finishing the game with 3,738 yards

The Redbirds (3-1) won their third straight since opening the season with a loss at Iowa. They went with redshirt freshman Jake Kolbe at quarterback and started usual No. 1 Tre Roberson, who had a thumb injury on his throwing hand, at wide receiver.

UNI, which entered the game as the only FCS team to have beaten two Top 25 teams, fell to 2-2. Quarterback Aaron Bailey threw a touchdown to Michael Malloy but also had two interceptions. Isaac Ales had three sacks and Karter Schult collected two sacks and five tackles for loss.

North Dakota State (3-1) looked every bit the four-time defending FCS champion in beating South Dakota State (3-1) for the eighth straight time. Quarterback Carson Wentz had 237 yards of total offense and both a touchdown pass and run while the Bison held the ball for more than 39 minutes.

Their defense limited SDSU to minus-4 rushing yards and All-America wide receiver Jake Wieneke to three receptions for 39 yards. Defensive Greg Menard had three sacks and three quarterback hurries.

Next Saturday, all six ranked Missouri Valley teams - No. 10 Youngstown State and No. 21 Indiana State are the others - will be involved in three big matchups.

Kody Sutton's 1-yard run on fourth down with 1:19 remaining lifted Southeastern and kept Lamar, which had previously beaten Sam Houston State, just short of a season sweep of last year's Southland co-champions.

Southeastern drove 79 yards in 17 plays for the winning touchdown. Quarterback D'Shaie Landor, back from a shoulder injury, accounted for three touchdowns - two rushing - and had 321 total yards.

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FRIDAY, OCT. 2=

No. 24 Harvard (3-0) 45, Georgetown (2-3) 0

Freshman Noah Reimers rushed for three touchdowns and Paul Stanton Jr. had 113 yards and two scores on the ground for Harvard, whose 17-game winning streak is the longest in the FCS.

The Crimson have posted a shutout in four straight seasons.

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SATURDAY, OCT. 3=

No. 1 Jacksonville State (4-1) 49, Mississippi Valley State (0-5) 7

Quarterback Eli Jenkins passed for a touchdown and rushed for two more, and Troymaine Pope had 100 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, sparking top-ranked Jacksonville State, which rested starters in the second half after building a 35-7 halftime lead.

The Gamecocks have a bye next weekend before playing three of their next four on the road.

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No. 2 Coastal Carolina (5-0) 55, Alabama A&M (1-3) 0

Coastal running back D'Angelo Henderson scored three touchdowns in the first half, including two on receptions, to set the Big South record with a TD in his 19th straight game and move within one of the FCS record. He had 146 yards from scrimmage.

Alex Ross threw four touchdowns in the Chanticleers' 100th all-time win. It was their first shutout since they beat Chowan 51-0 on Oct. 13, 2007.

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No. 6 James Madison (5-0, 2-0 CAA) 38, Stony Brook (2-2, 1-2) 20

The explosive Dukes built a 38-7 advantage and reached 5-0 for the first time in program history.

In a matchup of early season surprises, North Dakota prevailed behind Reid Taubenheim's four field goals.

UND outrushed the Vikings 260-97.

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Kentucky (4-1) 34, No. 17 Eastern Kentucky (2-2) 27, OT

Eastern Kentucky blew a 27-13 lead in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and then lost in overtime.

Colonels running back Dy'Shawn Mobley, who played two seasons for Kentucky, overcame a recent hamstring injury to carry the ball 21 times for 74 yards and a touchdown and catch five passes for 50 yards.

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No. 18 Liberty (3-2) 41, Georgia State (1-3) 33

Liberty beat an FBS opponent for the second consecutive season as Desmond Rice rushed for three touchdowns and D.J. Abnar had 164 all-purpose yards. The Flames held the ball for 43:33 of game clock.

John Lunsford kicked a 56-yard field goal one week after making a 57-yarder.

The Flames, who beat Appalachian State last season, became the seventh FCS team to beat an FBS program this year.